Product Image 1 of 1

Hot, Shot, and Bothered

TV news photographer Lilly Hawkins is on the biggest assignment of her career. A deadly wildfire is racing through the California mountains toward the town of Elizabeth Lake. After barely slipping in ahead of road closures, Lilly has her hands full photographing the massive evacuation and approaching inferno. She has no time to cover the accidental drowning of a reckless party girl in the lake . . . until she learns the victim’s name.

When Lilly knew her thirteen years ago, Jessica Egan was a principled environmental activist and not a bit reckless or wild. Could she have changed that much, or is a killer exploiting the chaos surrounding the fire to disguise a murder?

Soon Lilly’s juggling the story she should be covering with the story she can’t let go. What could have been the motive for Jessica’s death? Was it sexual jealousy, long-held grudges, or just plain old-fashioned greed that got Jessica killed? Meanwhile, Lily has to contend with her station’s low-budget technology, the antics of her dodgy uncle Bud, and the alarming job offers her boyfriend is fielding from big-city competitors. Lilly is racing against the clock to get answers. If only the murderer—or the fire—doesn’t get her first . . .

Book Reviews

Reading Group Guide

This reading group guide forHot, Shot, and Bothered includes an introduction, discussion questions, ideas for enhancing your book club, and a Q&A with author Nora McFarland. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.

INTRODUCTION

In Hot, Shot, and Bothered, the second Lilly Hawkins mystery, Lilly uses her top-notch “shooter” skills to cover a deadly wildfire burning in the California mountains. But the natural disaster isn’t all she ends up covering after a dead body is found near the scene of the fire. When the dead woman turns out to be Jessica Egan, someone from Lilly’s own past, Lilly decides to look into Jessica’s death herself. What she discovers isn’t pretty.

QUESTIONS & TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

The novel opens with Lilly Hawkins chasing after a coroner’s van in pursuit of a big story. How does this affect your initial impression of her? Does this seem consistent with Lilly’s character in A Bad Day’s Work? In what ways has she changed since that novel? Compare and contrast the portrayal of her character in both books.

Lilly takes great pride in her ability to take care of herself and do a job most women wouldn’t or